Upstaged
Published on 11. August 2020
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-4197-4081-7 (ISBN)
Description
A shy seventh grader learns to step into the spotlight in this heartwarming middle-grade novel
Shira Gordon is painfully shy. She rarely speaks and blushes at everything. But Shira has a secret. Alone in her room, she'll sing and dance for hours, dreaming she were different. So when her best (and only) friend forces her to audition for their school's production of The Music Man, she's mostly hoping she'll get the flu . . . but a teeny part of her hopes she'll get in.
And she does! As a member of the barbershop quartet. Playing a dude with a mustache is not exactly her dream role, but Shira is surprised by how much she loves rehearsing with her quirky new friends. When her teacher asks her to understudy the lead role, Marian the Librarian, she reluctantly accepts.
It's not easy to understudy Monica Manley, an eighth-grade diva who will not be upstaged. And things get even more complicated when a mysterious prankster starts playing tricks on Monica and Shira's crush joins the cast. But something keeps Shira going: Marian herself. Marian might be the leading lady, but she's also misunderstood, lonely . . . and shy. And if a star can be shy, then maybe, just maybe, a shy person can be a star.
Shira Gordon is painfully shy. She rarely speaks and blushes at everything. But Shira has a secret. Alone in her room, she'll sing and dance for hours, dreaming she were different. So when her best (and only) friend forces her to audition for their school's production of The Music Man, she's mostly hoping she'll get the flu . . . but a teeny part of her hopes she'll get in.
And she does! As a member of the barbershop quartet. Playing a dude with a mustache is not exactly her dream role, but Shira is surprised by how much she loves rehearsing with her quirky new friends. When her teacher asks her to understudy the lead role, Marian the Librarian, she reluctantly accepts.
It's not easy to understudy Monica Manley, an eighth-grade diva who will not be upstaged. And things get even more complicated when a mysterious prankster starts playing tricks on Monica and Shira's crush joins the cast. But something keeps Shira going: Marian herself. Marian might be the leading lady, but she's also misunderstood, lonely . . . and shy. And if a star can be shy, then maybe, just maybe, a shy person can be a star.
Reviews / Votes
Asher draws readers so deeply into the drama of these young thespians' lives that rooting for them is easier than flubbing a line on the first day off-book. * Kirkus Reviews * Hand to fans of Andrew Keenan-Bolger's "Jack and Louisa" books or Tim Federle's "Nate" series, as well as to the school theatre crowd and shy girls everywhere. * School Library Journal * Readers who participate in chorus or theater will appreciate the articulate portrayal of the work, the tension, the camaraderie, and the occasional magic of those experiences. * Booklist *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Abrams
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 8 to 12 years
Product notice
With printed dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4197-4081-7 (9781419740817)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Diana Harmon Asher is the author of Sidetracked, which was an ABA Indies Introduce book and an ALA Notable Children's Book. She is the mother of three sons and is deeply immersed in reading and writing programs at the nonprofit organization the Children's Village and at Blythedale Children's Hospital, both in Westchester, New York.